Featured Articles Archive - Page 469

Without the players' options, blackjack wouldn't be a serious gamble

Highly-informed blackjack buffs know the precise house edge they fight by following rigorous Basic Strategy. When the rules allow doubling down on any two cards, resplitting to as many as four hands, and doubling after splitting, it's 0.402225 and 0.429881 percent for six- and eight-deck games, respectively...read more

Cost cuts narrow MGM Mirage loss

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- CityCenter's much-anticipated opening in December gave MGM Mirage an end-of-the-year lift, but the $8.5 billion Strip development is still a work in progress. MGM Mirage said Thursday the company narrowed a fourth-quarter net loss from a year ago thanks to cost-cutting efforts. Although company executives said they were seeing a spike in future convention business and are focused on restoring the company's liquidity and balance sheet, CityCenter remains the centerpiece of those efforts. The 67-acre multifaceted project is a 50-50 joint venture between MGM Mirage and Dubai World, the investment arm of the Persian Gulf emirate. Aria, CityCenter's 4,004-room hotel-casino, earned operating income of $7 million during the 15 days it was open in December, the company said...read more

Deal Me In: Maybe once in 800 hours of swift play, maybe not

Dear Mark: If these two games were to be played correctly, which is better to play, blackjack or video poker? I would argue that it is video poker, simply because it offers a large jackpot if you hit a royal, whereas blackjack doesn't. Donald B. If you were to utilize expert play on both video poker and perfect basic strategy on blackjack (a 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker machine or multiple-deck blackjack), both will have approximately the same house edge of 0.5%...read more

Nevada's biggest casinos lose $6.8 billion

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Nevada's highest-grossing casinos generated a net loss of almost $6.8 billion in fiscal year 2009, victims of declining gaming revenues, reductions in hotel rates and reduced consumer spending. The Gaming Control Board, which released the Gaming Abstract Income statement Friday, said the net loss was by far the largest ever for Nevada. The last loss was in 2002, right after the Sept...read more

Murren has job creation ideas for Obama

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Mirage Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren hopes to have a few minutes to "chitchat" on Friday with President Barack Obama. If he gets the opportunity, Murren said he would like to discuss ideas for creating jobs with the president. After all, MGM Mirage's $8.5 billion CityCenter project created 12,000 jobs and was the largest privately-funded development ever in the United States. "We did it without any government help, and we're proud of that," said Murren, who has discussed job creation on national cable television shows. "Job creation is something I'm passionate about and it now seems to be a priority of the White House." Obama had been expected to visit CityCenter back in December following the development's grand opening...read more

Las Vegas Sands narrows fourth-quarter loss

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas Sands Corp., thanks to booming results from its Macau casinos, said Wednesday that the company narrowed its fourth-quarter net loss from a year ago. The company's earnings in the three-month period ended Dec...read more

Casino MonteLago to close in March

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Casino MonteLago, the only gaming location inside the upscale but bankrupt Lake Las Vegas, will close next month, burdened by a lack of visitation and the impending shutdown of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas in May. The closure, which will take place March 14, will eliminate 177 jobs. Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said the agency was officially notified Tuesday of the impending shutdown. John Tipton, an attorney for the owners of Casino MonteLago, CIRI Lakeside Gaming, said the closure of the Ritz-Carlton "was the final straw" for the property. The owners were seeking additional investors, but discussions with potential financial backers ended when the ownership of the Ritz-Carlton announced its planned shutdown on Feb...read more

ESPN to broadcast PokerStars NAPT

ESPN will broadcast 16 hours of the PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour (NAPT) starting in April, according to a statement made by the network. The second leg of the series, which will be played at the Venetian in Las Vegas from February 20-24, will kick off ESPN2's taped coverage on April 19. The first leg of the tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, was conducted in January and is slated to be televised in May...read more

Hawaii casino proposal still an uphill battle

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- Proposals allowing casinos inside hotels along Honolulu's Waikiki Beach have met the same fate for 40 years -- rejection. So what's different about a bill being discussed in the Hawaii Legislature that would allow casino gambling on the islands? Simple, the battered Hawaiian economy. Hawaii has taken its share of hits this recession because of its reliance on tourism tax dollars, putting legalized gambling back on the table again. Taxes from gambling revenues are attracting the notice of lawmakers nationwide...read more

Top-10 reasons Vin's taking up baccarat in Las Vegas

I've never really celebrated the Chinese New Year. I'm not Chinese, so I've never had a cultural reason to do so. And I've also never been in a city with a big Chinese population as the Chinese New Year celebration was taking place. So as I read about all of the cool stuff Las Vegas was doing to celebrate the Year of the Tiger, which began Sunday, I started to wonder what I could do to get into the act...read more